It looks like the Chinese government is giddy to technologically advance the countryside, but from the sound of it, all they have is more flowery language to throw at the idea. Sure, I am all for using technology to aid China's farmers, but all I see is another speech from the government that is all show.
In the past week, I have seen both good and bad articles in China Daily about development in China's rural areas, one which would most likely exploit China's minority cultures and another using simple technology to bring great benefits to farmers. It seems to be a week for China's farmers in the news, with China's Vice Minister for the Information Industry jumping in to give the world his two cents.
BusinessWeek had an article relating the words of China's Vice Minister Jiang Yaoping (Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Information Industry) at the opening of China Day at ITU Telecom World 2006. I was hoping for some reporting along with the words of Vice Minister Jiang, but instead it was just quotes strung together with some connecting sentences.
Minister Jiang seemed to be relating a lot of China's goals for the technological development of China's countryside, and maybe that was fitting for that particular speaking engagement. I do not know. I want more meat, though.
He talked a lot about telephone lines in every village and internet access for townships (administration over villages), but somebody is going to need to focus on the use of this technology. I have worked with folks from villages who need to use a computer, and the training will usually start at "this is the 'on' button."
That is not to say anything bad, but just that China needs to make some plans for how all these villages are going to be taught to use all this new technology. That is why I was so excited about Microsoft China's simple plan to provide equipment and training for rural farmers to help them use technology in a way that was solving an immediate and felt need. It was not just throwing gadgets at the problem, but using gadgets to solve the problem. And that includes training.
